It's possibly the worst time of year: Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas are behind us, and we're too worn out to even stay up till midnight on New Year's Eve (I know I may be alone in this...but it's the honest truth!). We can't zip our jeans and our heads ache from too much spiked eggnog. We got Pampered Chef when we wanted Prada. How will we survive the holiday-wasteland that is January to April?

I'm exaggerating a bit here in the interest of trying to sound compelling, but it's true that I can't help but feel a bit weepy and self-pitying. I am a junkie for the buildup of the holiday season, the way it starts out slow, with a scattering of Christmas songs and pumpkin pie and buying presents. But then every year, right around the 2nd week of December, it's like someone hits the fast-forward button and the holidays have zoomed right past us. And we're left with bleak weather and returning to work and another 10-month lapse before we gear up again.

So I've decided I'm going to try to keep the momentum going, some how, some way. I mean, the absolute best part of the holidays is spending time with family and focusing on others instead of ourselves, right? So why not carry that throughout the year? Why not get all kinds of crazy and invite family over for latkes and matzoh ball soup in February? Or donate new toys and/or meals to those in need throughout the year? I know I'm getting all sappy but I just cannot help myself. It's Christmas after all. And if any of you have ever seen Love Actually, you know that at Christmas we are given carte blanche to be excessively cheesey and to act in any manner we feel. Bless you Hugh Grant and Colin Firth and Keira Knightly, and your ridiculously absurd/wonderful movie that removes all shame from our holiday-season behavior.

So now that I'm done with my boohooing, please enjoy these quite cheery photos of one of my favorite outfits of late.